‘Wheel of Fortune’ Is Branded ‘Elitist’ After Harsh Ruling Against Contestant With Regional Accent

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Wheel of Fortune fans are claiming that the show “ripped off” one contestant on Tuesday’s (February 11) episode after not accepting her answer over a harsh “mispronunciation” ruling. And they branded the show “elitist” as the contestant they ruled against had a regional accent.

The player in question was Denise Zinzi from Oakton, Virginia, who was facing off against Chris Wiley from Meridianville, Alabama, and Yumemi Turk from Torrance, California.

Zinzi’s controversy came during the Mystery Round, where the contestants were trying to solve a four-word “Before and After” puzzle. When it came time for Zinzi to spin the wheel, she selected two Ns and a G.

This gave her a puzzle board that read: L O V E / L E T T E R / O _ / R E S I G N _ T I O N.”

Zinzi then attempted to solve, seemingly answering, “Love Letter Of Resination,” not clearly pronouncing the “G.”

There was a brief pause before host Ryan Seacrest said, “No, that’s not it.”

This allowed Turk to swoop in with the correct answer, saying, “Love Letter Of Resignation,” making sure to emphasize the “G.”

“That’s it, resiGnation,” Seacrest responded, highlighting where Zinzi went wrong in the judges’ eyes.

However, some viewers felt the show’s ruling was harsh and that they’d unfairly penalized Zinzi for her regional accent.

“@WheelofFortune You’ve done it again. The woman got the frikken G and you penalize her for mispronunciation. #elitists You should be ashamed of yourselves,” wrote one X user.

⁦@WheelofFortune⁩ You’ve done it again. The woman got the frikken G and you penalize her for mispronunciation. #elitists You should be ashamed of yourselves pic.twitter.com/7GXooCYZmZ

— John V. Szeluga (@szeluga) February 12, 2025

Over on Reddit, one fan said, “I think they ripped Denise off, with the “Letter of Resignation” puzzle tonight. Bless her heart.”

“Another regional accent pronunciation. Filet Mignon vs Filet MiG-Non. Resignation vs ResiGnation. It’s weird but an argument can be made,” wrote another. “She asked for the G and solved the puzzle. She knew the word. The pronunciation was weird but intelligible and she knew the G was in there because she called it. They should have given it to her IMO.”

“Justice for Denise,” said another.

“Denise was ripped off,” wrote another viewer. “She literally guessed G and said resignation. SHE DESERVED THAT WIN.”

“Contestant didn’t pronounce a hard “g” in resignation and they said no?” added one fan, noting the show is “getting ridiculous.”

Another X user added, “Y’all robbed that resignation woman.”

““Wheel of Fortune” did it again. A female contestant, Denise, called all the right letters for the word “resignation” so it was obvious she knew the word, but she had a little trouble pronouncing it so they declared her answer incorrect,” said another.

“Wondering if she has an accent. Strange you couldn’t hear the “G”. “Resination” with the G on the board. Feel bad for her,” another added.

However, not everyone agreed, as others backed the show’s decision not to accept Zinzi’s response.

“Resination is not the same as resignation,” wrote one Reddit commenter.

“She didn’t solve the puzzle. How was she ripped off?” said another.

Another added, “She clearly mispronounced it.”

This is the second mispronunciation controversy in recent weeks, as last Tuesday’s (February 3) game saw a contestant denied the solve for giving a different pronunciation of the word “safari.”

Zinzi’s flubbed answer set her on the back foot, and she never recovered, ending the episode with a $1,000 goose egg. Meanwhile, Turk went on to win the episode with $37,950, though she didn’t solve the Bonus Round puzzle.

What did you think of this ruling? Was the contestant ripped off? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.